History of Wellesley-in-Pasadena

Since the beginning of the 20th century, alumnae of Wellesley have been getting together with their fellow graduates in Southern California. Originally the Wellesley Club of Southern California, the club encompassed all of the counties from Ventura down to San Diego. After WWII, the Greater Los Angeles region as a whole, and Pasadena in particular, saw a significant increase in population. According to census records, Los Angeles saw an increase of population by over 50%. With this large increase of people, the Southern California club realized that its numbers were becoming too vast and that the division of the club into smaller groups was imminent. In September 1958, the regions finally split, forming the clubs we know today (Wellesley-in-Pasadena, WCLA, Wellesley Club of San Diego, and Wellesley Club of Santa Barbara).

This year was at the beginning of what we now call the Space Race. During 1958, the first US satellite was launched into orbit, NASA was formed, and JPL was transferred to the new organization from the Army in December of that year. The Space Race created a boom in the interest of spaceflight capabilities and the development of technology, which contributed to the rise in population.

Since its creation in 1958, the club has provided outreach and hosted events for Wellesley alumnae in the San Fernando Valley, the San Gabriel Valley, and the regions in between. Our club has created many traditions within it, such as our annual dinner, but just like the region, we constantly evolve. We look forward to growing our outreach efforts to alums in the regions and joining together to continue in the rich intellectual discussions we had at Wellesley and live into its motto, "Non Ministrari, Sed Ministrare."